US filings for unemployment aid fall to 187,000 last week, fewest since
1969
[July 24, 2026] By
MATT OTT
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for jobless benefits tumbled to the
lowest level in more than five decades last week as layoffs remain
historically low despite global economic uncertainty.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week
ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the Labor Department
reported Thursday. That's the fewest number of weekly applications since
the week ending Sept. 6, 1969, according to Labor Department data.
It's also well below the 215,000 new applications forecast by analysts
surveyed by the data firm FactSet.
Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for
layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S.
job market.
Despite surging oil prices resulting from the U.S.'s military attack on
Iran, the American job market remains healthy and layoffs historically
low. However, analysts say a prolonged war and higher than normal energy
costs could eventually chip away at that, forcing companies to reduce
costs by lowering head counts.
“The economic crisis caused by the energy supply shock is not over yet,”
said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Trading. “But the
labor market has yet to show any sign of wear and tear from the surge in
oil prices.”
The price for a barrel of U.S. crude surged nearly 5% early Thursday to
more than $91. That's the highest level in about six weeks. Gas prices
in the U.S. are also back up above $4 a gallon on average. That not only
squeezes consumers' budgets, but also hits businesses hard, especially
those which are heavily dependent on fuel.
In its expansive June jobs report earlier this month, the government
reported that employers pulled back on hiring, adding only 57,000 jobs.
That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that
companies remain cautious about adding to their head counts. The
unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline
is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and
were no longer counted as unemployed.
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 June’s tepid hiring comes after a
relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering
concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor
market.
Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly
between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the
pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years
ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s
tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering
effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.
Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are
Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.
Earlier this month Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about
2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at
its Xbox video game business.
Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of
weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, fell by 7,250
to 207,500.
The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for
the previous week ending July 11 was down by 2,000 to just under 1.8
million, also a historically healthy figure.
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